Rail Budget 2013: Nehru Place Delhi's IT piracy hub

Feb 27, 2013, 04.16AM ISTTNN[ Abhinav Garg ]

NEW DELHI: Traders at the computer market in Nehru Place, rated among the world's most notorious piracy hubs, have several hours of secret recordings showing how software pirates operate and revealing for the first time the kingpin of this racket. However, local authorities, including police, are not willing to act on these findings, traders allege.

According to estimates of Indian Software Developer's Association, Nehru Place alone accounts for roughly half of the Rs 12,000-15,000 crore of legal software sold in India every year. But the sprawling hub is also responsible for almost 60% of the pirated market, including high-end software, operating systems and films.

In December 2011, Nehru Place shot to notoriety when the office of US Trade Representative (USTR) listed it as one of the 30 most notorious IT markets in the world, infringing on intellectual property rights. Despite occasional raids by police or orders from the high court, the authorities have failed to clamp down on the illegal market. Now, however, more than 100 shop-owners who sell genuine computer goods have joined hands to uncover the piracy racket, which has led them to secretly film vendors hawking pirated CDs and creating hurdles in the sale of authorized goods.

Traders have shot several videos and clicked photographs, recording rampant piracy, often with active collusion of local station-level cops. They complain they have brought this evidence along with that of eve-teasing, use of banned drugs etc to the notice ofpolice but to little avail.

"Unsocial elements occupy the stairs and corridors of the towers at the computer market, creating nuisance. With police doing little, they brazenly sell pirated software, smoke ganja and even taunt women. We have not only handed over photos and videos showing such activities but also uploaded these on the Youtube," says Anil Taneja, a shopkeeper.

Ajay Chaudhary, additional commissioner of police (Southeast), however, claims he is not aware of any such complaint. "But if it has come to my office, it's definitely a serious issue and affects the public at large. We will investigate and take strict action. Pirates will not be spared."

The shopkeepers allege that police beat-officers support these unsocial elements. "We have often told police that Nehru Place is a soft target for a terrorist attack or any other serious mishap and requested them to free the area of unauthorized possessions. But all we have are CCTV cameras in the main plaza. Often vendors hawk pirated software right below or next to a CCTV but the authorities don't touch them," informs another harassed shopkeeper, Praveen.

Explaining the modus operandi of touts, traders have cited the example of large-scale encroachment of Bajaj House. The corridors of the building are always kept overcrowded and groups of local goons and touts operate freely amid the ensuing confusion. Shopkeepers allege 15-20 goons are hired and operated by a mafia running the piracy racket to ward off customers who wish to buy genuine products. When TOI visited the place, it saw staircases hijacked by touts with customers being prodded to buy pirated material. It is evident that a landmark order by the Delhi high court imposing a fine of Rs 5 lakh on a shop selling pirated software has had little effect on the piracy racket.

"The Nehru Place chowki in-charge has been responsive to our request but local beat officials are hand in glove with these goons. They leak information of raids to the goons who disappear by the time cops arrive. Later, we are threatened by the goons," states a complaint filed by shopkeepers along with several video clippings and photos.